Flaming Heart Book 1: Water
by Ashflight
Summary: Before I'd even known what was happening, the Southern Water Tribe had become my home, and I'd felt no sadness at leaving behind my life in the Fire Nation where I always heard talk of the war, and which village was going to be attacked or taken over.
1. Prologue

_Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar: The Last Airbender, but I do own my OC Kenna._

_**Prologue: Home**_

I sat on the small icy rock, staring out at the water as I extinguished and relit the ball of flame in my hand. Memories coursed through my mind of how I'd arrived in the Southern Water Tribe years before when I had hidden - or stowed away - on one of the Fire Nation army ships. My father would have been angry if he'd known, but seeing as I was never tracked down and taken back home, I don't think he ever knew I'd been on the boat, otherwise I'd have found myself back in the Fire Nation.

When the villagers had found me, they weren't very happy. Their village had just been invaded, and a woman killed. The woman's mother and her two grandchildren had vouched for me, allowing me to stay with the tribe. As time passed, I became friends with the children whose mother had been slain, though it took the boy, Sokka, longer to trust me than his younger sister, Katara.

Before I'd even known what was happening, the Southern Water Tribe had become my home, and I'd felt no sadness at leaving behind my life in the Fire Nation where I always heard talk of the war, and which village was going to be attacked or taken over next - I can barely remember any more than that, and for that I was grateful.

"Kenna!"

I turned and watched as my friend Sokka approached, letting the fireball in my hand go out as my red eyes went flat. Sokka, like all those who lived here in the Southern Water Tribe, had light brown skin and worn the same blue anorak and trousers as many of the villagers, including myself. The inside of the clothes were lined with fur from polar bear dogs and our hands were protected by mittens and mukluks. His long dark brown hair was worn in a spiky ponytail whereas my blonde hair was worn in a braid that ended at my waist, tied off with an icy blue colored ribbon.

"Yes?" I asked curiously.

"It's our turn to fish today," he said with a smile. "Katara's waiting at the boat."

I sighed. "Alright. Try not to fall out of the boat this time."

"I didn't fall! The fish pulled me out!"

"Sokka, the fish was smaller than my fist."

"…Touché," he muttered and turned to lead the way.

**A/N: …..**

**So, review please? First chapter is already half way down.**

**Next Chapter: Enter the Iceberg Boy, Avatar Aang.**

**~Ashflight**


	2. Enter the Iceberg Boy, Aang

_Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar: The Last Airbender, but I do own my OC Kenna and my other OC Charlotte._

_**Chapter One: Enter the Iceberg Boy, Aang**_

**Water.**

**Earth.**

**Fire**

**Air.**

**Katara's grandmother used to tell us stories about the old days. A time of peace; when the Avatar kept balance between the Water Tribes, Earth Kingdom, Fire Nation, and Air Nomads. But that all changed when the Fire Nation attacked. Only the Avatar mastered all four elements - only he could stop the ruthless Firebenders, but when the world needed him most, he vanished. A hundred years have passed and the Fire Nation is nearing victory in the war. Two years ago, Katara's father and the men of the Southern Water Tribe journeyed to the Earth Kingdom to help against the Fire Nation, leaving her and her brother, Sokka, to look after the Tribe. Some people believe that the Avatar was never reborn into the Air Nomads and that the cycle was broken, but Katara never lost hope, and she even has me, the pessimist, convinced that the Avatar will return and save the world.**

I sighed as I watched Sokka stalking the fish and bragging about how he was going to show Katara, his sister, how you _really _catch a fish. Katara sent him a half-hearted glare before turning back to the water and removing her glove to waterbend a small blob of water, a fish caught inside. I smiled at the girl, who was always eager to put her bending to use for even the simple things.

"Sokka! Look!" she said, bending the water and fish over the boat.

He didn't even look up. "Ssh, Katara, you're going to scare it away. Mmm, I can already smell it cookin'."

I snorted. "Sokka -"

"Ssh, Kenna," he hissed and I narrowed my red eyes at him.

"But Sokka, I caught one!" Katara protested as she continued to bend, her blue eyes struggling to stay focused.

Sokka ignored her and lifted his spear only to hit the bubble of water, releasing the fish Katara had caught and drenching himself in water at the same time. Sometimes karma can be a funny and very justified thing, at least in this situation it was.

I bit back a giggle as Sokka turned to his sister, looking frustrated before launching into a rant - one we'd both heard about ten thousand times. "Why is it," he began. "That every time you play with magic water _I _get soaked?"

"Bad luck," I supplied helpfully only to be glared at. "Alright, alright, sheesh, it was just a thought."

Katara glared at him. "It's not magic, it's waterbending and it's -"

"Yeah, yeah - an ancient art unique to our culture, blah blah blah - look," he said as he turned back forward. "I'm just saying that if I had weird powers, I'd keep my weirdness to myself."

Now I was the one scowling. "Weird? Therefore, that must mean you don't appreciate me using my _magic fire _to cook our food every night. Should _I _keep _my _weird powers to myself?"

"That is not what I meant," Sokka said as he began making muscles at his reflection in the water. "You girls always blow things out of proportion."

"Sokka, you're arguing with a couple of girls, you're going to lose," I said flatly before turning my back on him.

He ignored me and Katara stopped fuming long enough to bring up an old argument that's been going on almost as long as I'd been in the Water Tribe.

"You're calling me weird?" Katara smirked. "I'm not the one who makes muscles at myself every time I see my reflection in the water."

Sokka lowered his sleeve back onto his arm and started to turn.

"In order to make muscles, you have to _have _muscles," I said with a smile as I looked over my shoulder before, very gracefully, nearly falling out of the small boat. -someone really needs to tell Sokka the difference between a boat and a canoe - when it hit one of the currents, sending us speeding toward a large iceberg. Sokka grabbed the paddle and tried to steer us out of the current with no success.

"Watch out!"

"Go left!"

"GO LEFT!"

Katara and I shouted as smaller chunks of ice got too close to the boat for comfort. Two large pieces of ice crushed the boat and sent us sprawling onto the piece on our right.

"Call that left?" Katara asked sarcastically as she sat up.

"Obviously he thinks 'go left' means 'go right,'" I grumbled, dusting the snow and ice from my coat.

"You don't like my steering?" Sokka asked, looking away with a frown. "Well, maybe you should have _waterbended _us out of the ice."

"So it's my fault?" Katara said angrily as she stood.

"I knew I should have left you home!" Sokka groaned, laying his head down on crossed arms.

"Guys -" I began only to be interrupted by Sokka.

"Leave it to a girl to screw things up," he said.

I scowled at him and watched as Katara's temper flare, decided not to interfere this time. After all, girls screw things up; he wouldn't need my help to handle his sister's fiery temper.

"You are the most sexist, immature, nut brained - I'm embarrassed to be related to you -" I winced as Katara's movements with her hands made the small patch of ice begin to rock back and forth, until a large crack shot up the iceberg next to us, making Sokka look over as Katara continued her rampage. "Ever since Mom died I've been doing all the work around camp while _you've _been off playing soldier!"

Another crack.

"Uh… Katara," Sokka said nervously, pointing at the iceberg.

"Katara, calm down," I said, my eyes flashing with worry.

She ignored us. "I EVEN WASH ALL THE CLOTHES! Have you ever smelled your dirty socks? Let me tell you … NOT PLEASEANT!"

"Katara, settle down!" Sokka said, panic covering his face.

"Seriously, Katara, chill out!" I said, trying to keep calm.

"No!" she shouted. "That's it! I'm done helping you. From now on you're on your OWN!"

That's when the iceberg shattered and killed us all.

…

Just kidding. We didn't die but the iceberg did break and crumble into the ocean, sending our small ice raft surging back. Once we'd settle again, Sokka loosened his grip on the chunk.

"Okay, you've gone from weird to freakish, Katara," he said with a frown.

"You mean I did that?" she asked in awe.

"Yep," Sokka said dryly. "Congratulations."

"Um, guys?" I squeaked as the water below us began to glow a bright blue color.

They looked down as well and we all watched as the glowing water began to spread. With gasps, we all shoved back and scrambled to our feet, careful not to step off the edge of the ice chunk as we stared at the water with wide eyes. A large bright blue iceberg broke through the surface of the water and rose above us into the air. The glow in the water had been coming from the iceberg.

Katara hesitantly stepped forward, and Sokka frowned as he observed the iceberg. I didn't know what to make of it myself; it was such a strange occurrence. Nothing like this had happened in all my time with the Southern Water Tribe. Looking closer, there was a shape in the iceberg, that of a boy and it was surrounded by a large creature. Arrows on the boys head and hands were light up, no doubt the cause of the glow and then his eyes opened, glowing the same color.

"He's alive!" Katara gasped, and grabbed Sokka's weapon from his back. "We have to help!"

"Katara!" he shouted in exasperation and grabbed his spear before following his sister. "Get back here! We don't know what that thing is!"

"Sokka! Katara!" I rolled my eyes and followed after them, yanking the gloves off my hand and forming a small fireball in my right hand just in case. We used small drifts of ice to jump across the water and onto the iceberg.

Once we were there, Katara used Sokka's weapon to beat against the iceberg. Her brother stared at her, but made no move to stop her. I hurried over to her and shot small fireballs at the exact same spot she was hitting, helping her make some more headway into trying to free the boy in the iceberg. On one of the hits, what appeared to be steam of some kind shot out at us, knocking us back into Sokka, who managed to keep all the of us on the iceberg as a large crack shot up it.

A large bright blue light shot into the sky from the crack.

**- X -**

On a ship not far away from the Southern Water Tribe, the exiled prince of the Fire Nation also saw this light shoot into the sky, along with his Uncle Iroh and a young girl who sat with his uncle. The prince stared at the light with wide gold colored eyes, his long black hair drawn into a ponytail at the top of his head. The girl glanced at the light, and let out a small sound of surprise. Her skin was pale, not extremely pale, but pale enough to show she obviously didn't get enough sunlight. Her long red hair fell to her midback and her emerald green eyes stared at the light with surprise.

This was the sign they had all been waiting for - the sign of the Avatar.

"Finally," Prince Zuko said softly before turning to them. "Uncle, Charlotte, do you two realize what this means?"

"I won't get to finish my game?" Iroh asked with a small frown causing Charlotte to giggle.

"It means my search is about to come to an end," Zuko corrected, turning back toward the light.

"Don't go into the light, Zuko, whatever you do," Charlotte muttered under her breath, and Iroh let out a heavy sigh.

"That light came from an incredibly powerful source," Zuko continued. "It had to be him!"

"Or it's just the celestial lights," Iroh said calmly, motioning to the sky. "We've been down this road before, Prince Zuko. I don't want you to get too excited over nothing," he finished as he laid down another tile. "Please sit. Why don't you enjoy a cup of calming jasmine tea?"

"I DON'T NEED ANY CALMING TEA!" Zuko snapped and Charlotte raised a curious eyebrow at him. "I NEED TO CAPTURE THE AVATAR!"

_Forget the tea; he needs anger management training, _she thought with a frown.

"Helmsman! Head a course for the light!" Zuko ordered, pointing at the bright beam.

"And of course he wants to go into the light," Charlotte snickered quietly, trying not to appear as nervous as she really was.

The journey for the Avatar had really only just begun.

**- X -**

The steams slowly dissipated and I hesitantly looked up, knowing Sokka and Katara were doing the same. My eyes were wide, filled with surprise as I stared at the boy who was slowly standing up. There was a bright colorful swirl of air above the iceberg, but the boy seemed much more fascinating to us. Sokka kept both Katara and I to his right and slightly back, raising his spear threateningly.

"Stop!" he commanded of the boy but the boy ignored him and stood completely up.

_He looks so young, _I thought as I watched him. _How on earth did he survive in that iceberg? Shouldn't he have frozen to death?_

The lights faded and the arrows on the boy's body stopped glowing as his eyes closed and he fell forward as if he'd fainted. Katara gasped and ran forward, catching the boy before he hit the hard ice and lowered him carefully to the ground. I shoved Sokka aside and ran to kneel next to them.

"Is he okay?" I asked her softly as she cradled his head in her hands.

"I think -" she stopped and stared at Sokka as he jabbed the boy in the head numerous times with the handled of his spear. "Stop it!"

The boy groaned and opened his steely gray eyes. Katara and I both smiled at him.

"I need to ask you something," he said softly.

"What?" Katara asked.

"Please, come closer," he said.

"What is it," Katara asked gently, leaning in slightly.

I watched the boy as a grin broke onto his face

"Will you go penguin sliding with me?"

_Penguin… sliding? _I blinked and stifled a giggle. "Kid, you just got out of an _iceberg _and the first thing you want to do is go penguin sliding?"

"Uh, sure," Katara agreed. "I guess."

The boy smiled and then there was a small whoosh of air that carried him back onto his feet, causing Sokka to jump back with a cry and point the spear at him again while the boy looked around in confusion.

"What's going on here?"

"You tell us!" Sokka retorted. "How'd you get in the ice? And why aren't you frozen?"

"Sokka, stop that!" I scolded as he poked the boy in the gut with the spear tip. "That's rude!"

He glared at me and then huffed as the boy batted away the spear tip with his hand.

"I'm not sure," the boy said just before a loud groan came from the ice crater, causing the boy to scramble back up.

We exchanged looks and walked around to see the boy trying to lift the head of what looked like a giant bison, but I knew that couldn't be. The flying bison had been wiped out with the Air Nomads. Our jaws dropped as the creatures eyes opened and he gave the boy a friendly lick.

"What is that thing?" Sokka asked rudely.

"This is Appa, my flying bison," the boy said with a smile.

"Right," the boy said sarcastically. "And this is Katara, my flying sister. Oh! And Kenna, my flying fire bending friend."

Katara and I both sent him unamused looks and that was when Appa sneezed, his snot covering Sokka from head to toe. I broke down laughing as Sokka began grossing out, going as far to rub his head against the snow in an attempt to remove the flying bison snot.

"Don't worry, it'll wash out," the boy said cheerfully as Sokka's hand came away from his face with snot sticking to it. "So, do you guys live around him?"

Sokka pointed the spear at him again. "Don't answer that. Did you see that crazy bolt of light? He was probably trying to signal the fire navy."

"Oh yes, Sokka, that was absolutely what he was doing while IN AN ICEBERG!" I shouted and he winced.

Katara shoved her brother back. "Oh, yeah, I'm sure he's a spy for the fire navy. You can tell by that _evil _look in his eye."

The boy blinked and then flashed Sokka a large grin, his eyes filled with such innocence, that even me - the pessimistic one - couldn't think he was a spy.

"The paranoid one is my brother, Sokka," Katara said as her brother lifted his hand in greeting. "You never told us your name."

"I'm A-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ACHOO!" the boy sneezed and the force of it actually sent him into the air. We stared at him as he came back down and slid to a stop in front of us.

"I'm Aang," he finished.

"You just sneezed," Sokka said in awe. "And flew ten feet in the air."

"Really?" Aang asked, looking up over his shoulder. "It felt higher than that."

Katara gasped. "You're an air bender!"

The boy nodded. "Sure am."

"Giant light beams, flying bison, air benders," Sokka listed off. "I think I've got midnight sun madness. I'm going home to where stuff makes sense."

"Sokka," I said reasonably. "You have a fire bender living with you. One of your sworn enemies. Nothing makes sense, here or at home."

Sokka stopped and stared out across the water. There was no ice left for him to leap across.

"Well, if you guys are stuck, Appa and I can give you a lift," Aang offered before twirling up and onto Appa's back using his air bending.

"We'd love a ride, thanks!" Katara said enthusiastically.

"Yeah, thanks, Aang!" I said with a grin.

"Oh no," Sokka protested as his sister and I ran around to the back of the bison. "I am not getting on that fluffy snot monster."

"Are you some other kind of monster will come along and give you a ride home?" Katara asked innocently as Aang helped us into Appa's saddle. "You know, before you freeze to death?"

"Maybe you'll be found by some wild polar bear dogs, or some walrus yaks," I listed. "Or maybe even some of the arctic wolves or the arctic hippos!"

Sokka opened his mouth to say something and then apparently thought the better of it before letting out a sigh and climbing into the saddle. Once everyone was settled, Aang climbed forward to sit on Appa's head while the three of us stayed in the saddle. Katara and I were excited to fly, but Sokka was too busy pouting to notice anything going on around us.

"Okay! First time flyers hold on tight," Aang instructed cheerfully and then flicked the reigns tied to Appa's horns. "Appa, yip yip!"

Appa roared and with a thrash of his large tail, leaped into the air only to land in the water and start swimming. I sighed in disappointment while Katara crawled forward toward where Aang was sitting. Meanwhile, Sokka leaned back against the saddle, looking smug.

"Come on, Appa, yip yip!" Aang said again.

"Wow," Sokka said sarcastically. "That was truly amazing."

I scowled at him. "Stop that."

"What? I didn't do anything?" he argued.

"Appa's just tired," Aang assured us. "A little rest and he'll be soaring through the sky. You'll see."

Aang flashed Katara a smile who smiled back and she went to turn away but frowned when she realized he was still smiling at her like an idiot. She paused and gave him a weird look while I snorted in amusement.

"Why are you smiling at me like that?" she asked suspiciously.

"Oh?" his smile fell. "I was smiling."

"UGH!" Sokka complained loudly as Appa continued to swim through the water.

**- X -**

Charlotte stood next to Zuko in the freezing cold outside as the sun began to set. Neither turned as Iroh walked out and announced he was going to bed before going on a spiel about how Zuko needed sleep and how he would never find the Avatar if he was alive.

"Your father, grandfather, and great grandfather all tried and failed," Iroh said.

"Because their honor didn't hinge on the Avatar's capture, mine does," Zuko argued. "This coward's hundred years in hiding are over."

Charlotte placed a comforting arm on his shoulder. "We'll find him, Zuko."

Zuko nodded and gave one of his rare smiles.

**- X-**

I stared up at the sky as the others slept, wondering about Aang and how he'd come to be in the iceberg. It was obvious he was an Airbender, but I could have sworn all the Airbenders had been wiped out by my people - I mean, the Fire Nation. Something was off about him, as if he was hiding something. I wasn't sure what, but I had heard it in his voice when Katara asked him if he knew the Avatar, who was supposed to have been born into the Air Nomads almost a hundred years before. The boy had denied it, but there had been a strain to his voice…

I sighed and let my thoughts drift to the Fire Nation, trying once again to piece together what my parents had looked like. It had been years, I could barely remember, but I do know my mother had had the same long blonde hair as me, and the gorgeous ruby red colored eyes I had inherited. I didn't remember much about my father, but since I looked so much like my mother, I figured I didn't resemble him much, but the nose… I had a different nose than what I remember mother's looking like, so I must have that in common with him.

_I wonder if I'll ever meet him… _I thought before drifting off to sleep.

…

I woke up the next day just as Appa was docking at the Village. Sokka and Katara were awake and sliding down off of Appa while a still sleeping Aang snored away on Appa's head. Sokka and another of the young boys carefully lifted Aang and carried him to the family's tent to sleep while Katara ran off to tell everyone about the mysterious boy we had met.

Aang awoke an hour later only to be dragged out into a small crowd of people, being introduced to those that still remained in our village. I was sitting in front of the tent next to Sokka, watching with amusement as Katara made the introduction of 'Aang, entire Village. Entire Village, Aang.' Aang bowed respectfully and I frowned as some of the woman shielded their kids. Aang looked at Katara curiously.

"Why are they all looking at me like that?" he asked. "Did Appa sneeze on me?"

I snorted, glancing at Sokka who was not amused by me and scowled back. We stood and made our way over just as Katara's grandmother walked over.

"Well, no one has seen an Airbender in a hundred years," Gran Gran said. "We thought they were extinct, until my granddaughter, grandson, and Kenna found you."

"Extinct?" Aang asked in surprise.

"Aang, this is my grandmother," Katara explained.

"Call me Gran Gran."

"What is this, a weapon?" Sokka asked as he snatched away Aang's giant stick. "You can't stab anything with this."

"It's not for stabbing," Aang said as he Airbended the stick back into his hand. "It's for Airbending."

Aang smiled as he Airbended wings and a tail from the glider. I whistled, slightly impressed as Sokka gave a surprised cry. That thing was seriously neat looking, but then again, having never seen one, I'm sure I'd have been amazed anyway, if I'd known what it was.

"Magic trick!" one girl said, as the other kids laughed. "Do it again."

"Not magic," Aang said patiently. "Airbending. It lets me control the air currents around my glider and fly."

Sokka, however, didn't seem impressed. "You know, last time I checked… humans can't fly!"

"Check again!" Aang said as he braced his glider over his back and leapt into the air, carefully navigating the glider on the air currents to fly above the group of villagers.

Everyone made impressed sounds - more the children than the adults. I stood next to Sokka, eyes sparkling as I watched Aang fly around. Man, I wish I were an Airbender; it seemed so much cooler than being a Firebender. Katara was grinning as she watched Aang, but we all paused and grimaced as Aang, who wasn't paying attention, crashed into Sokka's watchtower. The boy managed to pull his head out, but the tower collapsed. Katara ran forward to see if he was okay, but I stayed by Sokka, who's jaw dropped.

"Ah, my watchtower," he whined while I patted him on the back sympathetically.

He went over to inspect his tower and I followed as Katara helped Aang up while Sokka inspected the damage Aang's big head had done. It was then that Aang twirled his glider, the sudden air change caused the watchtower to collapse even more, sending a large pile of snow knocking Sokka to the ground.

"Great," Sokka grumbled. "You're an Airbender, Katara's a Waterbender, and Kenna's a Firebender. Together you can all just waste time all day long."

I rolled my eyes as Sokka stormed away. Aang looked at both Katara and me in awe. "You're a Waterbender?" he asked Katara in amazement before turning to me. "You're a _Firebender?_"

"Yep!" I answered with a big smile.

"Well, sort of," Katara replied for her own skills. "Not yet."

"All right," Gran Gran said seriously. "No more playing. Come on, Katara, you have chores. Kenna, track Sokka down and tell him the two of you need to start on dinner."

"Yes, Gran Gran," I replied before running off in the direction Sokka had walked off in while she led Katara away.

It didn't take long to find him sitting at the edge of the ice outside the village and staring out at the water grumpily. I sat next to him and he scowled at me.

"Why are you so jealous of benders, Sokka? You're still special, you know," I said. "Sometimes being a bender if more of a burden than a gift."

"Seems like you all have a lot of fun with your 'burden,'" he grumbled.

"Yeah, bending can be fun, but a lot of trouble comes from having the powers we do," I answered, staring up at the darkening sky. "Being a bender can have its amazing times, but for benders like me - Firebenders - it's not all fireballs and daisies, you know. I've been here for almost ten years and still only you, Katara, and Gran Gran trust me. Sometimes I wish I wasn't a bender. Some of the world's most important people are non-benders. They can do amazing things, too."

Sokka shrugged. "What about the Avatar? He's the world's most important person - numero uno - and he's a bender of all four elements."

"But think of all the responsibility he has," I said softly. "I couldn't imagine having to deal with the stress of having the fate of the world in my hands. Could you?"

"Nah," Sokka answered, finally smiling. "I like being a non-bender, but just sometimes I wonder what if would be like if I could be more like you and Katara. Special."

"Trust me, we're not that special," I replied before I stood and held a hand out to him. "C'mon, Gran Gran said we have to start one dinner."

He took my hand but as I went to pull him up, he smirked and pulled down, sending me head first into the water. I broke the surface to see a laughing Sokka running back toward the village.

"SOKKA! YOU ARE SO DEAD!"

**- X -**

Charlotte stood with Uncle Iroh as the two examined Zuko's Firebending training with two of the other Fire Nation warriors on the ship. It was quite easy for the girl to tell that Iroh was easily getting fed up with trying to explain how the power behind Firebending was not from muscle, but from the breathing. Charlotte shook her head as once again Iroh ordered Zuko to attack the soldiers. Once again, he messed up, but still managed to avoid their counter attacks.

She now had her long red hair pulled up into a ponytail, and her green eyes had taken on a seriousness that always appeared when training. She knew once Zuko was finished, Iroh would go about teaching her some of the more advanced Firebending moves.

"No!" Iroh said. "Power in Firebending comes from the breath, not the muscles. The breath becomes energy in the body, the energy extends past your limbs and becomes fire."

Iroh struck out and a ball of fire shot from his fist, dissipating right in front of Zuko's face.

"Get it right this time," Iroh ordered, but Zuko scowled and stepped forward.

"Enough," he said firmly. "I've been drilling this sequence all day, teach me the next set. I'm more than ready."

"No!" Iroh argued. "You are impatient. You have yet to master your basics. Drill it again!"

Zuko growled and fired a shot of flames from his foot at one of the soldiers, knocking him back before turning back to face Iroh, eyes filled with fury.

"The Sages tell us that the Avatar is the last Airbender," Zuko explained. "He must be over a hundred years old by now. He's had a century to master the four elements, I'll need more than basic Firebending to beat him. You _will_ teach me the advanced set!"

"Very well," Iroh agreed. "But first, I must finished my roast duck.'

Charlotte couldn't help but laugh as Iroh pulled out a bowl and began eating happily.

**- X -**

After Sokka 'helped' me with dinner and we had all eaten, he went to train his group of soldiers - the young boys of the Tribe, so that they would be able to protect the Water Tribe at a moment's notice should anything happen. It was amusing to watch, Sokka really had no patience to deal with them and it always equaled to a few laughs for me whenever I tagged along to 'oversee' the training.

"Now men, it's important that you show no fear when you face a Firebender," Sokka explained. "In the Water Tribe we fight to the last man standing, for without courage, how can we call ourselves men?"

"You manage it, somehow," I muttered quietly and he glared at me.

Oops, I guess he heard that after all.

One boy's hand shot up. "I gotta pee!"

I snorted. _Boys, they have no tact, when young or when grown._

"Listen," Sokka explained furiously. "Until your father's return from the war they're counting on you to be the men of this Tribe. And that means _no_ potty breaks!"

"But I really gotta go!"

Sokka sighed. "Okay, who else has to go?"

All the boys raised their hands. I laughed as the boy stood and walked toward the bathroom while Sokka did a pretty graceful face palm. I stood next to him, laughing.

"When you gotta go, you gotta go," I giggled as Katara ran up to us.

"Have you seen Aang?" she asked. "Gran Gran said he disappeared over an hour ago."

Just then, Aang came out of the bathroom. "Wow, _everything _freezes in there."

The kids couldn't help but laugh, but Sokka was, as always, not amused.

"Katara, get him out of here," Sokka ordered. "This lesson is for warriors only."

"WHEE!" a boy cried as he and the other kids slid down Appa's tail into a pile of snow. Sokka stomped over, looking angry.

"Stop! Stop it right now!" he shouted. "What's wrong with you? We don't have time for fun and games with the war going on!"

"What war?" Aang asked in surprise. "What are you talking about?"

Sokka, Katara and I all stared at him and then Sokka spoke.

"You're kidding right?"

"PENGUIN!" Aang cried before taking off after the penguin.

"He's kidding, right?" Sokka asked again before Katara rolled her eyes and followed the boy.

"Honestly, Sokka, go easy on the kid," I frowned, hands on my hips. "Who knows how long he was in that iceberg."

"The wars been going on a hundred years, Kenna," Sokka argued. "Do you really think he's been in there that long?"

"No," I replied, even though I wasn't completely sure. "But he is young. About a year or so younger than Katara. Maybe he's been sheltered from the war. There are some out there who are happy to live in denial about it."

He sighed. "Yeah, whatever."

"Good," I replied and then spun around as a flare shot up into the sky.

Sokka scowled and I couldn't suppress my horror.

Someone had gone onto the booby-trapped Fire Nation ship, and looking around, I had a sickening feeling that it had been Aang and Katara.

"That is not good," I muttered as Sokka nodded in agreement.

_**A/N: Thanks to LunaAliceMason, .Uchiha, EmilyLupin77, Dana1290, Ali, Bad Wolf Baybe, and Nebula-Nyx for reviewing the last chapter. Thanks to EmilyLupin77, ponzi382, WishingOnAFallenStar17, BookwormStrawberry, kage kitsune 14, and Nebula-Nyx for adding this story to their favorites. Thanks to Edward Cullen's Girl, EmilyLupin77, ivycake101, LunaAliceMason, .Uchiha, short stock, WishingOnAFallenStar17, xoavdonahue, hoove-print-on-your-heart, Nebula-Nyx, and Bookworm Strawberry for adding this story to their alerts.**_

_**Pulling Kenna into the water right after a 'serious' moment, seemed like something Sokka would do to lighten the mood, haha.**_

_**Please review or the Fire Nation may invade your home! :O**_

_**~ Izzy**_


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